Largest Fresh Water Lake

Lake Superior, on the United States/Canada border is the freshwater lake with the greatest surface area at 31,700 square miles (82,103 square kilometers).The largest lake in the United States is Lake Superior, one of the Great Lakes, located on the United States / Canada border. It is largest in both surface area 31,700 square miles (82,103 square kilometers) and in volume of water 2904 cubic miles (12,100 cubic kilometers).

Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by Ontario, Canada and Minnesota, USA, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and is the world's third-largest freshwater lake by volume. It is about twice the size of The Netherlands.Lake Superior has a surface area of 31,820 square miles (82,413 km²)—which is larger than South Carolina. It has a maximum length of 350 miles (563 km) and maximum breadth of 160 miles (257 km). Its average depth is 483 feet (147 m) with a maximum depth of 1,333 feet (406 m).Lake Superior contains 2,900 cu mi (12,100 km³) of water. There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover the entire land mass of North and South America with a foot (30 cm) of water. The shoreline of the lake stretches 2,726 miles (4,387 km) (including islands). The lake's elevation is 600 feet (183 m)above sea level. American limnologist J. Val Klump was the first person to reach the lowest depth of Lake Superior on July 30, 1985 as part of a scientific expedition, which, at 733 feet below sea level, is the lowest spot on the North American continent.Annual storms on Lake Superior regularly record wave heights of over 20 feet (6 m).Waves well over 30 feet (9 m) have been recorded.

GEOGRAPHY:

The largest island in Lake Superior is Isle Royale in the state of Michigan; this island itself carries a number of lakes, some of which contain islands. Other large famous islands include Madeline Island in the state of Wisconsin and Michipicoten in the province of Ontario.

CLIMATE:

Lake Superior's size creates a localized oceanic or maritime climate (more typically seen in locations like Nova Scotia). water surface's slow reaction to temperature changes, seasonally ranging between 32°-55°F (0°-13°C) around 1970,helps to moderate surrounding air temperatures in the summer and winter, and creates lake effect snow in colder months. The hills and mountains that border the lake form a bowl, which holds moisture and fog, particularly in the fall. The lake's surface temperature has risen by 4.5°F (2.5°C) since 1979, which is attributed to global warming.